WHAT IS THE BIBLE? AN INTRODUCTION
The Bible is unlike any other book that you will ever read. That is because it is the Word of our Creator and our Savior. The Bible was designed by God to help us to live our lives according to His purpose. The Bible is part instruction book, counseling book, history book and any other type of book you might try to read. As a Christian the Holy Spirit works through us to help open our eyes to what God wants us to know in the Bible

In 1 Corinthians 2:4 it states, ď A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraisedĒ. Non-Christians can read the Bible but they are handicapped to what is contained there because they do not have the guidance and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit that is reserved for those that have accepted and believed in Christ.

You should see as a Faithshaper how important reading the Bible is. To a Christian, being able to go to and understand the Bible is a privilege granted by God yet many fail to even read the Bible let alone try to understand it. Why?
1. Many Christians do not see BIBLE STUDY as an important element in their walk with Christ
2. New Christians find it difficult getting started in Bible Study because they do not know where to begin.
3. There is no understanding of BIBLE STUDY as an important duty, one that the Bible emphasizes in verses such as Acts 2:42 and I1 Peter 2:2
4. Some Christians even claim they do not have the tile to do any type of meaningful BIBLE STUDY

I. WHY BIBLE STUDY IS IMPORTANT!

A. IT WILL PREVENT ANY MISUNDERSTANDINGS
Most misunderstandings happen because we do not listen to what is being said or what we are being told to do. Still others create misunderstandings by twisting the truth to prove their point of view. It is the same with Godís Word people slander God by twisting His Word to meet their own agendas. Still others dishonor God by ignoring the truth that is found there and then creating their own truths to satisfy their own needs and desires.

Still others run around declaring God said this or that when they themselves have never really read the Bible. The problem is that a half-truth or a twisted truth is worse than no truth at all. That is why as Christians we need to always discern the truth as it is written in Godís Word. That is where the Bible comes in.

God wrote the Bible to prevent any misunderstandings about who God is and what He desires from us. It is up to us to prevent any misunderstandings by reading His Word and allowing what is written there in order to sharpen our hearts and spiritual focus. If you do not read the Bible you may end up fashioning God into someone He is not and you would not want to do that. If you want to see the results of fashioning God into your image not the image found in the Bible read Exodus 32 and see how ell it worked out for the Israelites.

B. WE NEED TO LIVE OUR LIVES BY THE TRUTH
John 17:17 says that Godís Word is truthĒ. What does this mean to you? To me it means that when I need to find out if something is true I can go to the Bible, pray for Godís guidance and look for the truth in His Word. Not using Godís Word for guidance is like trying to drive a car with no steering wheel. You either are going to crash go in circles or just flat out not going to get anywhere.

Even with the revelation that we need to live our lives by the truth in Godís Word there are still plenty of people who get mad at the idea that God is telling them how to live their lives. Who knows maybe you are one of them. While it is true the Bible was written with the idea of showing us how to live, people who see the Bible as a burden are missing the whole point of Godís Word. The Bible is the truth in a false world. It is the steering wheel that guides us through the twists and turns of the treacherous mountain road know as life.

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